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Do you stop trading when ahead?


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Do you stop trading when ahead?

  #1 (permalink)
 bbilotta 
Chicago IL
 
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Question:
You start the day with three or four successful, full-target trades. Do you stop for the day?

Thoughts:
From an emotional grind perspective, why give it back and lament? Take "yes" for an answer and go do homework, or play golf.
From the perspective of "take money out of play and focus on ticks", maybe the answer is that you keep doing what you do until the market tells you to sop. Valid point, but emotions are real, there's no getting around it. And....What's the upside here? Why keep trading? Obviously to make more money, but if we're trying to remove money from the equation then there's no reason to keep trading.
We stop when we've lost too much on the day. Should we stop when we hit a daily profit target - be that in ticks or $$?
Should your "Plan" include a daily target amount?
Does all this depend on where you're at in your personal journey as a trader !! ??

Looking for your input and reasoning.

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  #3 (permalink)
 
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 MiniP 
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bbilotta View Post
Question:
You start the day with three or four successful, full-target trades. Do you stop for the day?

Thoughts:
From an emotional grind perspective, why give it back and lament? Take "yes" for an answer and go do homework, or play golf.
From the perspective of "take money out of play and focus on ticks", maybe the answer is that you keep doing what you do until the market tells you to sop. Valid point, but emotions are real, there's no getting around it. And....What's the upside here? Why keep trading? Obviously to make more money, but if we're trying to remove money from the equation then there's no reason to keep trading.
We stop when we've lost too much on the day. Should we stop when we hit a daily profit target - be that in ticks or $$?
Should your "Plan" include a daily target amount?
Does all this depend on where you're at in your personal journey as a trader !! ??

Looking for your input and reasoning.

I turn it off when i'm ahead but usually this is only because i'm no longer in the "zone"

when i feel my self staring out the window or watching you tube.. i turn it off, but i am working on calculating my highest days where I was up a ton then lost it all and seeing if there is a number where I normally blow it up and once i find this number ill add another rule either through the broker or through software.

Don't forget you can have your broker limit things like loss/gains/contracts/trades

-P



-P

"Truth is not what you want it to be; it is what it is, and you must bend to its power or live a lie"-Miyamoto Musashi
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  #4 (permalink)
 
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 Rrrracer 
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Tiger Trader always said that if one is trading well, one should continue to trade.


That said... I should have quit yesterday before I gave half of it back LOL... the thought crossed my mind before that, I was well up... and sure enough, I had lost my read of the market and it cost me. Maybe next time I'll pay more attention to that subtle hint from the voice in my head.

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  #5 (permalink)
 tpredictor 
North Carolina
 
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Posts: 644 since Nov 2011

Yes, there are several reasons quitting is good idea unless you do better as the day goes on. You should only trade when you have an advantage. If you have a trading system or know that can trade profitably in the evening then sure it is possible. But here's a good list of reasons why you should stop:

1. The volatility on many days will decrease thus decreasing opportunity.
2. All else equal mathematically opportunity will decrease as the day goes on if you are not going to hold over the close because we can measure the number of minutes or bars remaining.
3. Most people cannot maintain level of focus required.
4. Firms tend to do research during the day and new information may come out that technical trader does not have.
5. It does not mean one should stop while in a trade, however.
6. If a day is a trend day, you would be best to hold the trade for longer but it does mean placing more trades.
7. Trading can be stressful. It is healthy to take a break.
8. Most traders will trade better if they had a winner, momentum, confidence, etc. After taking losers, many traders are prone to trading worse.
9. Trading profit is defined by trade quality and trade quantity. Maximizing one tends to minimize the other. As such, it makes sense to have a profit target or objective.

Why should you keep trading?

1. If you have different or unique edges that present throughout the day
2. If you want to decrease the concentration risk of your trades. Example, dividing your risk capital up into 2 or 3 portions. If you trade anything in the morning, it is more likely your risk will be subject to the similar risk factors.


If you have time to trade all day, I would recommend to take a break, workout, etc and then trade on the simulator instead until you develop confident edge or perhaps trade on the micros at reduced size.




bbilotta View Post
Question:
You start the day with three or four successful, full-target trades. Do you stop for the day?

Thoughts:
From an emotional grind perspective, why give it back and lament? Take "yes" for an answer and go do homework, or play golf.
From the perspective of "take money out of play and focus on ticks", maybe the answer is that you keep doing what you do until the market tells you to sop. Valid point, but emotions are real, there's no getting around it. And....What's the upside here? Why keep trading? Obviously to make more money, but if we're trying to remove money from the equation then there's no reason to keep trading.
We stop when we've lost too much on the day. Should we stop when we hit a daily profit target - be that in ticks or $$?
Should your "Plan" include a daily target amount?
Does all this depend on where you're at in your personal journey as a trader !! ??

Looking for your input and reasoning.


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  #6 (permalink)
 centaurer 
south africa
 
Posts: 169 since Dec 2018

Of course not. If your system is winning you need to juice it. If anything you should be betting bigger as you win.
You want to stop trading when the system is not working and you are behind.

That is if your goal is to maximize profit. If your goal is to maximize % of winning days then you should cut your winners short and semi-martingale some of your losing trades. Of course that is not going to be good for your bottom line but you will
have a bunch more winning days.

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  #7 (permalink)
 
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 wldman 
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the entire thread. BUT, when you have a lead you must learn to press the lead. Most people press losers and kill winners small. That is why most people fail to make it trading.

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  #8 (permalink)
 
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 bobwest 
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MiniP View Post
I turn it off when i'm ahead but usually this is only because i'm no longer in the "zone"


Rrrracer View Post
I should have quit yesterday before I gave half of it back LOL... the thought crossed my mind before that, I was well up... and sure enough, I had lost my read of the market and it cost me. Maybe next time I'll pay more attention to that subtle hint from the voice in my head.

I think that's the right point when you quit, not just when you are ahead, but when, whether ahead or not, you're losing touch with the market.

Until then, press it hard if you're doing well.... The time will come when you need to bail out, and do it then, not when you are reading the market well.

Bob.

-----------------

Update: And PS, killing your winning trades too soon or cutting short your winning days is what will kill you, because you will have those losing trades and days when, just from human nature, you hold the losing stuff for too long. If you are also cutting your winnings, you have no cushion and will be in big trouble.

Also, letting those winners run is the only good way to pull ahead. Take advantage of the times when you are right.

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  #9 (permalink)
 
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 Massive l 
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No, not if my signals are hitting. I stick to my daily max loss. Not worried about losing but am aware of gambling habits so stick to the signals. If it happens it happens but it's a rare thing. Average less than 1x a month.

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  #10 (permalink)
 
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 michaelleemoore 
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Today was a banner day for me. My trading partner has been developing some new trading setups, moving away from our normal scalping and setting his sights on larger targets. Because I like to tinker in small ways with my setups, and because Newt was doing something new, I renovated some ideas I learned a few years ago and paired them with my current tried-and-true scalping method.

Watching Newt forge off into new terrain was inspiring, and frankly, it made me press the pedal a little harder. I know some don't care for the idea, but I like having a $$ goal. Today I went past that goal pretty early. I considered easing back on the pedal a bit, but watching Newt's trades continue to add up made me feel a bit competitive. Don't get me wrong -- we don't compete against one another. But I love to compete with myself, and what my brain said was, "Newt is killing it, and you're killing it, too. Press on."

And so I did. I come to the market every day looking to do better. I don't mean make more money. I mean be better, be more observant, make better choices, find a new way to see the data that's presented. I don't always succeed, but if I look back at where I was two years ago and where I am today, it's easy to see the improvement. When a day like today develops, my mind does NOT go into preservation mode as it did when I first became profitable; instead, it eyes a record day. Maybe today's the day. Only I can stop myself, so I buckle down and try even harder.

mlm

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Last Updated on May 13, 2019


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